Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how self-employed people can meet the Access to Work certification requirement by an employer or support worker.

The criteria for meeting the Access to Work certification requirement for self-employment are laid out in the Access to Work DWP Staff Guide, which is publicly available on GOV.UK through the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-staff-guide

In the current guidance, for Access to Work purposes, a self-employed person is classed as someone who is:

• operating a business either on their own account or in partnership; or working for an employer on a self-employed contractual basis’
• operating a franchised business on a self-employed basis
• running a business that satisfies the past or prospective viability tests (such as achieving a minimum level of turnover each year - this level is currently set at the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) of £5,824 per annum), and
• possessing a Unique Tax Reference Number (UTR)

Self-employed people can meet the Access to Work certification requirement by providing a UTR; and either of the following:

• accounts for an established businesses; or,
• a business plan of a standard acceptable to a bank or other financial institution.